My most recent ride 2018 (part XI in the series)

a two parter, Saturday afternoon it warmed up into the upper 40's and we headed out on the MTB's. The first real ride with the new handlebar setup on the Frankenbemt and right off the bat I could feel the difference. With the narrower bars there was less wandering of the front end making control much easier.

The SUN came out and I actually had to shed a layer. The loose sand we found had me sweating right off the bat. A couple of times in really deep sand the front end washed out but mostly I Had no issues.

We stayed mostly on unpaved roads that day, one. Being the best ever. I'm not sure how long the downhill was but it was wonderful! Nicely packed and smoo as silk. There was a long climb out but well worth it.
We ended up with 28 miles and 1900 feet of elevation gain.

Yesterday was play in the Woods day. I went looking for anything that looked like a game trail or footpath and found a few.

 

Best I can tell this was just a track made by a vehicle that decided to drive throu the woods. Needless to,say I didn't go too fast while looking for armadillo holes.

 

Out yesterday, beautiful windy and cold. We waited until 1 pm to start and it was 38 with a windchill of 30. Fortunately there were plenty of hills to climb and we were averaging 85 feet of elevation gain a mile for the first 13 miles. By 2pm it had warmed up to 43 and I had the jacket unzipped and the gloves off.

Such a beautiful day, we saw several deer and a huge buck with a rack large enough to hold a basketball. Three medium sized black boar were rooting in one road and didn't hear or smell us because the wind was so strong. I had to holler at them to get out of the way.

The temperature dropped quickly and by the time we finished at 5:30 it was back down to 33 degrees and the windchill was in the mid twenties. Even with my winter boots my toes were numb. We finished with 31 miles and 2050 feet of elevation gain.

The V2 gets better and better as I become more comfortable with her and continue to tweak things. Much easier to keep a line on a steep loose climb and I'm having more success in loose sandy roads.

 

Wow, that's some serious elevation gain. Nice photo of the woods. So you are basically mountain biking on a Recumbent...who would have thought.haha

 

Yep, and the RANS V2 is turning out to be lots of fun. The long wheelbase and low pressure I. The tires makes for a very comfy ride. She is t real fast. When I hammer the whole bike sort of springs up and down if my spin isnt just perfect. That being said, I don't really mind. Just enjoying riding in the woods.

 

Out again last night before that bad weather set in. It was 45 degrees when we started but the wind was howling and the windchill was in the thirties. We decided to stay in the woods as much as possible where the wind was less of a factor. The steeper hills and the soft sand more than made up for it.

The sand was drier from the wind even though the creeks were running higher. The V2 was a muddy mess after we finished and I had had to walk a lot of deep sand. We finished with just over 15 miles and 1998 feet of elevation gain at 8:10pm. The temperature had dropped to 39 degrees and The sleet started about 10 minutes later.

 

LOL, your a braver soul than I, even on a reg. style MTB, I was a charter member of the "Over the Bars" Club! Here your doing in on a LWB Bent, that's impressive. ENJOY!

 

Thanks BJ, most of the stuff I'm riding is dirt roads and double track. Nothing too crazy. The crazy thing about an off-road LWB bent is bombing downhills are less scary. Where I used to worry about picking the right line, now I just go over the edge and give her her head. If it's real ugly I will unclip and be ready to touch a food down if needed.

 

Well I FINALLY got on my bent for the first time since chemo. Slow going and only 6.7 miles but I was smiling ear to ear the whole way!!!

 

Kudos and thumbs up to all those who can ride in all types of weather. Too hot...I can't ride. Too cold...I can't ride. My riding season is limited and that just sucks....
However, I make the most of it when I can.

 

Way to go Jon! I was out again Saturday for 32 more miles on the Frankembent. There was still just a bit of snow left on the ground when we started but it,quickly melted as it warmed up to almost 60 degrees.

 

Hi all. Sorry for being so scarce. Just been doing occasional circles around the apartment. Feels pretty silly to be making up dates about that.

Our weather has been inconstant. Pouring rain washing every trace of ice and snow away on one day. Snow and thick hoarfrost the next. Admittedly, we have had some decent winter weather that has lingered for 4 to 6 days at a time.

My rides have been short and just local circles for Loke's sake. He's doing... okay. Showing his age more and more.

Up to a whopping 20 miles for the year so far. Go me.

Terii

 

Terii, good to hear from you. We are down to two dogs now that both greyhounds have passed from Cancer. My lab mix is 15 and still spry but doesn't want to take long jaunts anymore. My Basingii mix has always been a couch potatoe and at twelve it's hard to get her moving.

So a good ride yesterday. Took the Rans out for a country road ride, 75% dirt and the rest mostly crappy old pavement. A bit cool when we started at about 38 degrees with a nice 10 mph wind but it was sunny and the temperature was susposed to get about 50 before we finished.

A great day! The skies were beautiful the country roads were filled with dogs, friendly dogs, that just wanted to come out and say hi. We passed many many more dogs than cars passed us. 47 miles with 2700 feet of climbing right at 11 mph in 4 hours. The one stop we had planned the store looked closed for many years but we had enough food and water so it wasn't an issue. We sat on the old bench in front and ate.

The Rans was the right bike for the ride. I had put a bit more air in the tires expecting the roads to be pretty well packed. 28 psi in the rear in 22 in front and that with the long frame did a good job of absorbing most of the holes and ruts. With the low gearing I kept my cadence high working on a nice smooth even spin so my legs didn't feel that tired at the end of the day.

To finish the day my wife and I went and say her nephews band playing at a local bar. Great music! Good enough that I stayed away for their both sets and we did t get home until 1:30 AM.

 

Is that a gravel/dirt road??? what are you riding?

 

He doesn't call it Frankenbent for nothing. Captains Kirk, Picard, and Janeway may have "... gone where no one has gone before", but Ward has ridden 'bents in places I have never heard of a 'bent there before.